Members of Congress Read the Stanford Rape Victim’s Full Statement on the House Floor

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One aspect of the Brock Turner sexual-assault case that led to it gaining widespread nationwide attention was his victim’s powerful impact statement, in which she detailed the harrowing effect the incident had on her. On Wednesday night, California congresswoman Jackie Speier led House members from both sides of the aisle in a reading of the full letter. It took nearly an hour to complete.

“We are doing something tonight that’s never been done before on the House floor,” she said, in her introduction. “We will read the entire gut-wrenching statement of a sexual assault survivor who was attacked on the Stanford campus last year.”

“The sexual predator received a paltry sentence of six months in county jail, of which he will serve only three for committing a violent crime,” Speier continued. “We are not moved by the felon’s excuse of alcohol. We are not moved by the judge who said a longer sentence would have ‘a severe impact’ on the offender. We are not moved by the felon’s father, who said that his son should not serve jail time for ‘20 minutes of action.’ Emily Doe is a survivor in every sense of the word, and her words deserve to be amplified.”